Tamer 35
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Chapter 35: Hey, I Liked Them First
TL : Cnine
ED/PF :
Part 1
Having discovered a splendid monster called Skehanman that did not appear in the status display, it was only natural that I had no choice but to start creating Skehanmen.
The advantage of being able to command monsters not under the influence of monster taming was far too great. So, for the time being, I was satisfied with having made a hundred Skehanmen.
And being able to properly dispose of the Skeleton General’s head only amplified that thrill.
I also handed them the Skeleton General’s sword, otherwise useless.
Now, my Skehanmen were dual-wielding, and the Nightmare Goblins, usually stuck with hauling duties, finally had their hands free. Everything seemed to be lining up perfectly.
Next, I wanted to experiment with my Monster Fusion skill right here and now.
The four new recruits—the Slime, Pixie, Wild Wolf, and Dullahan—were still at rookie level. Take them to the higher floors, and they’d just weigh me down. Better to prepare them first.
On the 16th floor, I caught an additional twenty Dullahans and began performing monster fusion on the monsters I had caught earlier.
By fusing five Dullahans into each of the Slime, Pixie, Wild Wolf, and Dullahan, their levels became 147, 147, 147, and 154, respectively.
As described, the Monster Fusion skill adds the total EXP of the fused monsters.
It was a very useful skill for raising the level of freshly caught monsters.
However, the Dullahans used as fusion material tried to run away when I attempted to use the skill, so I had the Pixies restrain them...
The moment the Monster Fusion skill was used, the Dullahans used as material were crushed into small black spheres, crying out like a tragic heroine for a moment as they tried to escape.
Judging from the Dullahans’ panicked attempts to flee, it seemed clear: Monster Fusion was a skill that siphons the EXP from the monsters used as material—and then completely erases their existence.
「What’s the matter? Anyone got something to say about that?」
The monsters were twitching nervously, clearly on edge… But a single word from me would suffice.
I mean, I am now a first-class monster tamer.
「I have no intention of fusing monsters that are actually useful.」
No sooner had the words left my mouth than the Nightmare Goblins formed a protective circle around me, and the Pixies…
They hovered at regular intervals, eyes alert above our heads, while Demon Boss carried me effortlessly, and the Skehanmen stood in perfect, intimidating formation.
Monster Fusion skill must have terrified them beyond measure.
「All right, next up: Monster Evolution」
I performed Monster Evolution on the four monsters whose levels had been raised by Monster Fusion.
The Slime evolved into a Giant Slime, the Pixie into an Evil Pixie, the Wild Wolf into a Giant Wolf, and the Dullahan into a Chaos Dullahan.
「All right, that should do it. From now on, you lot won’t be dead weight.」
The Slime and Wild Wolf evolved simply by growing larger, which was exactly what I expected.
The Evil Pixie became a mischievous-looking beauty and grew to about 50 centimetres tall, while the Chaos Dullahan’s size remained the same, but the shape of its equipped armour became more sinister.
I gave instructions to the Giant Slime, Chaos Dullahan, Giant Wolf, and Evil Pixie, and set up a dog sled.
The method was simple.
The Chaos Dullahan lay on the ground and grabbed the Giant Wolf’s tail, while the Giant Slime covered the lower half of the Chaos Dullahan.
And so, the components fell neatly into place: dog (Giant Wolf), rope (Chaos Dullahan), sled (Giant Slime).
Then, by placing the Evil Pixie as a pillow on top of the Giant Slime and having me ride, the dog sled was complete.
I tried it out, and it wasn’t bad. The Evil Pixie made a reasonably comfortable pillow.
Exploring while riding this would be surprisingly easy. Well, there was no helping the slight scraping of the Chaos Dullahan’s armour, so I decided to overlook that.
「Oi, Skehanmen. You lot, come along too. We’re moving to the next floor.」
I rode the dog sled, leading the Nightmare Goblins, Pixies, Demon Boss, and Skehanmen as we began moving.
The normal Slimes couldn’t keep up with the pace, so I stuffed them into trash bags and had the Nightmare Goblins carry them.
Ah, the Skelittle Dragon… No rush to summon it just yet. Summoning it now would only clutter the group, since we couldn’t move between floors while it’s around.
◇◇◇
Floors 17 through 25 were cleared almost effortlessly.
It felt less like exploration and more like an invasion. The monsters we encountered screamed and ran away the moment they saw us, so I skipped chasing them.
Since they were all basically evolved forms of monsters we had already seen, I’d omit the details of the monsters appearing on these floors.
I didn’t want any Skehanmen to die, so I ordered them to wait on the 13th floor just in case. I also told them not to kill anyone, so it should be fine.
In fact, who would even wander onto the 13th floor? It was a barren, forsaken place anyway.
And the real problem starts from the 26th floor.
From the 26th floor onwards, the strength of appearing monsters suddenly spiken, and even the ace of my monsters, Demon Boss, could no longer defeat them with a single strike.
Well, my monster army still tears them apart in seconds, turning them into smoke.
The monsters appearing are: 26th floor – Earth Dragon, 27th floor – Water Dragon, 28th floor – Wind Dragon.
By the time I reached the 28th floor, things were getting tough, so I decided to make this my hunting ground. It’s about time to reveal how strong I am and start earning.
The 6th-floor resummon combo didn’t yield magic stones after all.
Therefore, instead of using the 6th-floor resummon combo that only pursues EXP efficiency, I should switch to normal hunting: riding the Skelittle Dragon and throwing the Pixla Saw 49.
※Author Note: it is not normal.
By the way, I tamed one Water Dragon to secure drinking water. In the future, when I earn enough to build a big house, I’d use it as a substitute for the water supply.
It should save money on water bills.
「Monster Summoning, Skelittle Dragon.」
For now, I’d focus on leveling up around here and plan to become a high-rank explorer on the 30th day, the same day I reach 30 days as a regular explorer.
◇◇◇
「Hey, hey, Jin! Over here!」
「Ah, finally back, Haruno!」
「Listen, listen! You won’t believe this!」
She comes back and immediately bounces around like a child—classic Haruno behaviour.
When she suddenly declared, “I’m going on a trip to enforce justice,” I honestly thought, what on earth she was talking about? Maybe she just went on some fancy gourmet tour in Aomori.
Seriously… That radiant smile, that flawless, beautiful face… If I weren’t the member of the Brave Saint Sword Demon, I’d probably surrender right here and now.
「I found my destined person!」
「Eh?」
Destined, person?
「M-Must be Beethoven's.」
「Ta-ta-ta-taaaan!! That’s Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, not my love life, silly! I’m talking about my destined person!!」
Huh!? Huh!? HUUUUUH!?
Wait a second… Was someone actually trying to mess with my low-key romance that’s been simmering since we formed the party!?
Haruno and I are really vibing right now! Who the heck is trying to get in our way!?
※Author Note: It's just in his own little imagination.
「Oi… Haruno, who the heck is this guy you’re talking about?」
「Eh? Th-that’s… well… kind of tricky…」
You’re not gonna tell me the details, huh? Even though I’m supposed to be the guy closest to being your boyfriend? Ridiculous.
※Author Note: It's just in his own little imagination.
「Haruno… you’re not getting played, are you? If he’s a decent man, he should be able to confess himself, right?」
「It’s not a game! I even talk on LIME with him every single day, okay!?」
「Every... Day?」
「Yeah! Hey, hey… LIME is usually a full-on back-and-forth dozens of times a day, right? I’ve had boyfriends before, but with your supposed ‘destined person’? I have zero clue what I’m doing!」
Even I got told by Haruno, “Chill, it’s fine if we don’t talk every day! I’m not really the type to reply that much anyway!” And now she’s messaging daily?
「Maybe I overdid it a bit? That’s why replies are slowing down? But hey, at least he still sends one a day… So it’s not like he hates it or anything.」
If her messages are slowing down… Then this is it! My chance to prove that I am her true destiny.
I’ll find that so-called “destined guy” and make sure he never gets near her!!!